New in the Northwest: 'Open Spaces' Edited by Penny M. Harrison

View full sizeSpecial to The OregonianOpen Spaces: Voices from the Northwest, edited by Penny M. Harrison

OPEN SPACESEdited by Penny M. Harrison University of Washington Press, $22.50, 240 pages

"Open Spaces: Voices From the Northwest" is a contemporary anthology examining life on the western edge of North America. Open Spaces Magazine, a quarterly out of Seattle and Portland, is known for its articles that focus on the beauty of this region, as well as the impact people are having on it. In this collection of work from that magazine, authors like Kim Stafford and David James Duncan mine the past to find predictors of our collective future. "We in the Northwest are inspired in our perceptions and actions by the majesty that surrounds us," editor Penny Harrison writes in her introduction. "The writing collected in this anthology celebrates that majesty and at the same time reveals the attempts of many thoughtful and energetic people to get to work and take up Wallace Stegner's challenge to 'create a society to match the scenery.'" The anthology is published by University of Washington Press in Seattle.

Harrison talks about the writings of authors who focus on our region,
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Powell's City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside St. Joining her will be John Daniel, Linda Besant and Kim Stafford.